Template:Introduction/Documentation

Project

Andytizer is leading this project. To discuss further please visit our Discord on the #projects channel.

Aims

More relevant qualitative information for gamers researching a new PC game that is not constrained to single bullet points.
- Replaces the previous "key points" in almost all scenarios.
Information about the history and current state of the game.
Additional natural content for improving search engine ranking.
See discussion in these threads: 1 2 3 4

Guidelines

This is the first free text area on PCGamingWiki and our aim is to describe the game in a neutral technical manner constrained by facts and not driven by criticism, outrage or bias.
It is important to consider undue weight and only include issues that have affected/will affect a significant number of players.
Any issues (e.g. platform issues) mentioned must be proven with multiple original sources otherwise they will be removed.
Issues that are fixed within a 48 hour period after launch should not to be included unless particularly notable.
When discussing platform 'exclusivity', be as objective as possible and refer to direct concrete statements and release dates rather than conjecture.
Delays should be mentioned but only if longer than one month. Multiple delays can be grouped together in one or two sentences.
Try to avoid 'relative time expressions' where possible e.g. The game currently has X bug. Try to rephrase as something that is more timeless, e.g. As of May 2020, the game has X bug. Some relative time expressions are unavoidable, so don't go out of your way to avoid them and spoil the readability of the writing.

Style

Entire section should be concise and ideally less than 500 words total, not including references.
Every claim should be individually referenced, ideally with a snippet e.g. <ref>{{Refurl|url=|title=|date=2020-05-09|snippet=}}</ref>
Prefer trustworthy sources e.g. publications, detailed written articles, databases, first-party sources, etc. and only refer to forum posts, social media, videos or streams if no other sources are available.
The first Introduction parameter does not need referencing, as the developer/publisher/taxonomy etc. should be self-evident
One is allowed to space out the |introduction, |release history and |current state parameters for clarity, it will not affect viewability on the page.
The first instance of the game title (directly at the start of the introduction parameter) should be written using both italic ''Title'' as well as bold '''Title''', meaning it should be surrounded on both sides by five apostrophes '''''Title'''''. Subsequent mentions of the game title only needs to be styled in italic ''Title''.
Linking should not be distracting, there should be a maximum of x1 link per type per section, e.g. linking the word [[Steam]] only once per |introduction, subsequent mentions of Steam within the section should be unlinked.
Introduction is designed to be freeform and so the template is a guideline, and sometimes paragraphs can be combined, e.g. |release history and |current state could have overlapping content that can be combined into a single paragraph in either field.
Separate paragraphs where appropriate for the sake of readability and style, e.g. technical reception might be its own full paragraph, or modding might be its own full paragraph depending on how much there is to state on the matter.
Genres/taxonomy tags can be linked to by transcluding the underlying glossary page for that term, as this: Template:Glossary:Action (source: {{Glossary:Action}}). This will create a category link with a tooltip of the genre/taxonomy definition. The tag is automatically shown in lowercase unless its an abbreviation such as Template:Glossary:MMORPG (source: {{Glossary:MMORPG}}).

Avoid

Extended plot details - for example Maneater can be described as a game where the player controls a shark - this is concise gameplay information. However, we don't need to know that the plot is about killing the fisherman who killed the protaganist's mother.
Celebrities - article does not need to state that Norman Reedus stars in Death Stranding. However it would be relevant to include details about the game's creator Hideo Kojima, and how the game related to other games he has created like Metal Gear Solid.
Consoles - it is not necessary to go into a lot of detail about individual console releases, you can refer to them as generic 'consoles'. The exception to this is when referring to PC-relevant specific features like cross-platform play where one might refer to PC and Xbox One cross-platform play.

Introduction structure

Introduction - this section has no header, it is simply prose separated by paragraphs in this {{Introduction}} template:

Syntax

{{Introduction
|introduction      = 

|release history   = 

|current state     = 

}}

introduction

Gamename is a taxonomy/perspective/mode/genre etc. featuring key/unique gameplay features made by company published by company.
Templates to reference taxonomies are not complete yet, for now simply link to the category page in lower-case, e.g. [[:Category:First-person|first-person]].
Game is a sequel/prequel in the series or related series or is a spiritual successor.
Game uses engine plus any noteworthy engine information compared to other entries in the series.
Game is important/noteworthy for any other reason.
This row has a basic structure that is autofilled, as long as the modes/perspectives/genres/series is entered into {{Infobox game}} with the relevant Taxonomy rows. It should be overridden where possible.

release history

Game was first released on platform on date.
Pre-release information including early access, crowdfunding, closed beta, etc.
Platform changes with platform (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG etc.) including delays, technical issues.
Launch was successful/had issues
- Technical reception - describe with quotes/references the reception to the game on a technical level, e.g. it was a good/bad port, it had X issue on launch. This may include critic reviews.
- Player account/concurrent user milestones - only include if describing a game that is primarily multiplayer, no more than 2 sentences.
History with a focus on technical issues, for example:
- Major bugs
- Inability to access the game (e.g. server queues, delays etc.)
- DRM history and changes.
- Missing advertised features.
- Features missing from console counterpart.
- Missing endings, content that has been notably cut.
- Whether any of these problems were fixed.

current state

Current major issues that have not been resolved yet.
Updates/support is the game regularly updated technically (patches etc.) or content (DLC, expansions, microtransactions or free content updates). Roadmap of future content or features.
Multiplayer describe the scene, give an update on number of current players, is it possible for players find games?
Modding are there official tools, how are mods distributed.
Improvements mentions of essential mods or quality of life improvements, link to anchors further below.
Major community additions ONLY INCLUDE if there are major communities outside of 'General information' links such as already linked Steam, GOG, fan forums, e.g. substantial modding communities, Discord communities, alternative servers, hacked multiplayer etc.

Examples

See list of pages using the template.